Brighton are keeping a close eye on Sheffield United Ollie Arblaster’s road to recovery as they plan another raid on the Championship, TEAMtalk understands.
The Seagulls were tracking the 21-year-old Blades midfielder before a serious knee injury curtailed his season back in November.
Arblaster is now close to fitness as he targets a pre-season return – but Brighton now have the boyhood Blades fan in their sights.
With Sunderland’s rookie play-off hero Tommy Watson having already sealed a £10m switch, fellow second-tier star Arblaster could yet join him at the Amex.
Arblaster is in no hurry to leave but a £20m offer could sway Sheffield United’s thinking after they missed out on promotion at Wembley. Failure to seal an instant Premier League return following last month’s 2-1 defeat to the Black Cats will cost the Yorkshire club financially.
Blades bosses are resigned to Gus Hamer heading to the top-flight, with Leeds and Everton among the suitors, as TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Harry Watkinson reported on May 28. Brazilian ball-winning midfielder Vini Souza could also be lured away amid interest from home and abroad.
Chris Wilder would loath to lose Arblaster, who was a key cog in his engine room before injury struck.
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Brighton could reignite interest in Sheff Utd ace
Arblaster has already captained his beloved Blades and is a big Bramall Lane favourite.
He is progressing well in his rehab from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in the Steel City derby against rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
But Brighton are keeping tabs on his progress.
Brighton are no stranger so signing young stars from overseas, including Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, before selling them on for a healthy profit.
Now they could look closer to home for the latest gem in Arblaster that they can polish up. The youngster made 12 Championship appearances in 2024/25, notching two goals and one assist.
However, Fabian Hurzeler is not short of midfield options and could yet offload Matt O’Riley – another target for Everton – to make room for a new arrival with Carlos Baleba and Diego Gomez favoured by the German.
The emergence of Jack Hinshwood has also given Hurzeler another a welcome headache.
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